3 Ways Volunteers View Your Project
3 Ways Volunteers View Your Project Volunteers make up the life-blood of any non-profit organization. Although volunteers are essential, it’s important to note: not all volunteers are created equal. Some are great and contribute significantly. Others become like mythical creatures we've heard existed but have never actually seen ourselves. But, leaders can better work with volunteers if we determine what level priority your volunteer is giving your project. Because our time is finite, a volunteer can not give equal time and energy to every project or group they’re engaged in. A volunteer will have to decide if soccer practice or PTA ...
3 Questions Every Volunteer Asks
The moment someone signs up to serve on a team, the clock begins to tick. With every passing moment initial interest in your team begins to fade. So, the question is, how do you capture new volunteers and turn them into a fully engaged member of your team? Communicate! When someone signs up for your team, the most important thing you can do is communicate with them! Call them and introduce yourself. Also try to introduce yourself in person so you each have a face to go with a name. Communicate how your team works, the process to get involved, ...
5 Fun Icebreaker Games
The group that laughs together, stays together. Icebreakers are especially important over the first few weeks after a group starts. Games that help people get to know others in the group also help build connections in the group, which helps people feel like they belong. Here's 5 games I like to use: 1. M&M Game Supplies Needed: A bag of M&M’s Pass around a bowl of M&M’s and ask everyone to take out 5. Each color of M&M represents something they need to share about themselves. Red: Something you do well Brown: Ways you relax Green: Goals you have Yellow: ...
Group Stressors: Babysitting
Few things can add more stress to a group than babysitting. As a parent, you’re trying to savor a few moments of quality adult interaction, when suddenly your 2 year old appears in the room crying loudly. Game over. Then there’s the whole collecting money for baby-sitting thing. There’s that one family who never pays and as a group leader you seem to always have to give more than your fair share. How can we make babysitting less stressful? Start at the beginning On your first night of group, talk about babysitting. Explain how it works, how much to give, ...
15 Questions Every Person Asks When Joining a Small Group
Signing up for a group for the first time can be intimidating. As group leaders, it's our job to help people feel comfortable attending group for the first time. Here's an idea of what could be going through someone's head after signing up for a group. I just signed up for a group. Oh no, what did I just do? Should I go? Maybe I'll start next week? What about next semester? I've never been in a group before and have no idea what to expect? Everyone's going to know I'm new and I'll probably do something stupid. Why am I ...
First Night of Group, Part 2: Lesson and Prayer
On your first night of small group, your lesson is very important. This is your one chance to set a tone for your group for the rest of the semester or year! So, I want to share a possible template to use for your lesson for the first night of group. Lesson: Welcome everyone to group. Explain group big picture. I hope this will be a safe place. I hope we’ll grow together. Everyone comes into group with different backgrounds. It’s ok to ask questions and not have the answers. Ask if anyone’s been in a group before, and if so, ...
First Night of Group, Part 1: The Template
Your first night of small group will always be a little different. People are meeting each other for the first time and wondering if they'll like each other, and what to expect from the group. It's important to know that your first night of group will set the tone for what your group will be like, so you need to have a plan. Here’s a template of what a typical first night of group should look like. With Dinner: 1. Dinner (30 minutes) 2. Icebreaker Game (15 minutes) 3. Lesson (45 minutes) 4. Prayer (15 minutes) Total: 1:45 Without Dinner: 1. ...
How to have a neighborhood cookout
I’ve always dreamt of living on a street where everyone knows each other (kind of like Cheers, but on a street instead of a bar). I presently live on a street where that’s very far from reality- but we're trying to change that. My wife and I have lived in our house for almost 6 years and have slowly worked on getting to know the neighbors bit by bit and year by year. This past Sunday, we hosted our 3rd neighborhood party and had 38 people come. They had a great time and profusely thanked us for hosting the get together. I ...
7 Simple Questions to Begin a Small Group (with free download)
As we began our yearly preparations for small group to begin about a year ago, I began to feel bad about how many times I had to e-mail our leaders for their group info. It felt like I was bugging our leaders- which I never want to do. Finally, I decided to sit down and figure out all the info I needed so I could ask them in one easy step. After I received their info, I made a simple excel sheet to find out where there are holes and could easily follow up. As I'm working through this process ...
Video: Classic Jesus Video Parody
What was Jesus like? I've heard it said the biggest job of discipleship is to bring people to Jesus. Then Jesus can do His work in their life. The problem is many people have big misunderstandings about what Jesus was really like. These 4 classic Jesus parody videos play off those misunderstandings. They're meant to poke fun at misperceptions of what Jesus was like and not make fun of him in anyway. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQeFG6Q87uA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAb8qoXraGw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCTAgxsLE3Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hUaMahxXi8 What was Jesus really like? How would you describe Him based on the Bible?